For disabled, polling place barriers too common

Tuesday, November 15, 2005

By LARRY FISHER-HERTZ

More than 50,000 people visited town halls, firehouses and libraries throughout Dutchess County last week and exercised their right to vote.

Most walked into their polling place, signed their names for the poll watchers, went into the booth, pulled the curtain, cast their votes and left.

But some encountered barriers as they tried to exercise a basic constitutional right.

Those who use wheelchairs arrived at the polling place looking for directions where to park. In many cases, these signs didn't exist. At other sites, there were no ramps permitting wheelchairs access into the building, or the doors inside were too narrow to permit people in wheelchairs to navigate.

Bill Quinn has almost become used to these barriers. The 28-year-old Hopewell Junction resident voted Tuesday, but he needed help.

"At my polling site, the handicapped parking spot is at one end of the building and the voting booth is at the other," Quinn said. "I need help getting my wheelchair inside; I can't do it on my own."

Once inside the voting booth, Quinn faces other challenges. Because he is in a wheelchair, the curtain doesn't close completely, so he doesn't enjoy the same level of privacy. And there are other problems.

"Last year I didn't cast a vote for U.S. senator," he said, "because I simply couldn't reach that lever."

Standards not being met

For the past seven years, staff and volunteers at Taconic Resources for Independence , a local agency that provides services to the disabled, have been inspecting polling places throughout Dutchess County . They've found most sites do not meet standards set by the Americans with Disabilities Act signed into law 15 years ago by President George Herbert Walker Bush.

Cynthia Fiore, the agency's executive director, said most poll workers are sympathetic, but don't always understand the scope of the problem.

"The response we get from a lot of people at the polls is, 'We don't see many people who need help, and if we do, we help them.' "

"Well, there's a Catch-22 there," Fiore said. "A lot of people don't vote because they know the barriers they will face when they do. And the point of the ADA is to create a society where people with disabilities can get around without having to seek help from others."

Fiore and her staff are preparing to discuss their findings with the Board of Elections. She said she was encouraged by the progress made since Taconic Res-ources for Independence began inspecting polling places seven years ago. But there's more to be done.

"It's getting better," she said, "but the change has been incremental. It's not as fast as we'd like to see."

Larry Fisher-Hertz covers the criminal justice system and social issues. His column appears Tuesdays. Write to him at P.O. Box 1231 , Poughkeepsie , NY 12602 . His telephone number is 845-437-4824, and his e-mail address is Lhertz@poughkeepsiejournal.com